Fans usually don’t storm the court at Wisconsin. The Badgers usually win at a healthy clip and such an idea would never enter the minds of the fans.

But this hasn’t been your normal season in Madison. The Badgers were thinned by graduation and injuries with not much left in the cupboard.

Needless to say, it’s been a long year for the Badgers, entering play with a 11-16 overall record and 4-10 Big Ten mark, there hasn’t been much to write home about. So enter 2015 National Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky. He led the Badgers to back-to-back Final Fours in his final two seasons on campus and has gone on to a nice career in the NBA.

The UW decided it would be a great idea to honor Kaminsky by retiring his number-44, raising it high to the rafters of the Kohl Center. It might not have had to do with all of the Badgers play, but it certainly had something to do with it and the Badgers would go on to knock off No. 6 Purdue 57-53 before 17,287 at the Kohl Center.

When the final horn went off, many of the excited fans flooded the court to celebrate with their team. [Read more…]

Another slow start for the Wisconsin Badgers turned into yet another defeat, falling 83-72 to the Michigan Wolverines at the Kohl Center.

Michigan hit 3 of 4 three-pointers and 6 of 8 shots overall to build a 15-2 lead just 5:33 into the game on Sunday. Badger coach Greg Gard wasn’t happy early with his team’s defense so he made an early substitution, sending starters Ethan Happ, Nate Ruevers and Aleem Ford to the bench just 2:24 into the game.

“I was a little taken aback because that’s not usually what he does,” Happ said. “But obviously, he saw something in us where we weren’t getting it done.

“That led to a 15-2 run. I can’t fault him for that.”

Michigan led by as many as 25 points in the second half before the Badgers went on a run and climbed to within seven points of the Wolverines in the final minute.

Wisconsin (11-16, 4-10 Big Ten) is assured of finishing below .500 in league play for the first time since the 1997-’98 season.

The Wolverines (20-7, 9-5) won at the Kohl Center for just the second time in nine games under John Beilein.

Moe Wagner had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Wolverines.

Happ had a season high 29 points for the Badgers, who will host Purdue on Thursday night.

Wisconsin wrapped up the 2018 early signing period in December with 19 scholarship players in the fold. The Badgers added to that class on Wednesday by receiving a letter of intent from Miami defensive back Rachad Wildgoose.

Wildgoose had decommitted from Georgia last month, paid a visit to the Madison campus last weekend and then picked the Badgers over Central Florida and North Carolina State.

Wildgoose had more than dozen offers, including Alabama, Auburn, Nebraska, Maryland, Ole Miss and Purdue.

Badgers hire linebackers coach

Badger coach Paul Chryst finalized his coaching staff by announcing the hire of Bobby April III as the team’s outside linebackers coach.

April III joins the UW staff after spending six seasons in the NFL. He was the linebackers coach with the Buffalo Bills in 2015 and 2016 and is the son of longtime coach Bobby April Jr., a two-time NFL Special Teams Coach of the Year.

The Wisconsin Badgers have sent some pretty good tight ends to the NFL and that hasn’t gone unnoticed. On Monday, 6’5, 225 pound tight end Hayden Rucci, from Warwick High School in Lititz, Pennsylvania, announced on Twitter he had given UW an oral commitment for the 2019 class.

Hayden Rucci is the eighth known commitment for the 2019 class. He chose Wisconsin after receiving several offers, including Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Indiana and Rutgers from the Big Ten Conference.

Troy Fumagali finished with 46 receptions for 547 yards and four touchdowns for the Badgers this past season. He’s projected as one of the top tight ends in the upcoming 2018 NFL Draft.

Rucci’s father, Todd Rucci, was an offensive lineman at Penn State and played seven seasons in the NFL with the New England Patriots from 1993 through 1999.

The Wisconsin Badgers were in position to pull out a road win but fell short at Maryland, losing to the Terrapins 68-63.

The Badgers trailed by ten points at halftime before coming back to lead by two points on a number of occasions in the final minutes. Then, down by five, the Badgers erased a 65-60 deficit but Maryland would outscore UW 8-3 over the final 1:25 to pull out the win.

It’s the fifth straight loss for Wisconsin (10-15, 3-9 Big Ten), dropping them into a tie for 10th in the Big Ten with Minnesota and Iowa. The losing streak is the longest for the Badgers since they dropped six straight during the 2008-’09 season.

The loss also means the Badgers can’t finish above .500 in Big Ten play. The last time Wisconsin finished at .500 or worse in Big Ten play was 1999-2000 when they finished 8-8 under Dick Bennett. But that team reached the NCAA Tournament and eventually the Final Four.

Ethan Happ had 18 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Badgers. Nate Reuvers added 13 with Aleem Ford and Brad Davison each finishing with 12 points.

The Badgers, down 3, had a chance to tie the game with 9.8 seconds left. But Davison decided to drive inside instead of going for a three-point shot. He missed and the Terripins would make two final free throws for the final margin.

Just when you didn’t think it could get any worse, the Wisconsin Badgers got off to another slow start and fell to Northwestern 60-52 at the Kohl Center on Thursday night.

Northwestern jumped out to a 18-1 lead, on their way to a much-needed victory.

The Badgers (10-14, 3-8 Big Ten) were coming off a bad loss to Nebraska on Monday, then laid an egg early against the Wildcats on Thursday night.

Northwestern (14-10, 5-6) didn’t do much in the second half, but their lead was enough to survive. Junior center Derek Pardon finished with 17 points to lead the Wildcats. Scottie Lindsey chipped in with 14.

Junior forward Khalil Iverson had 15 points and a career high nine rebounds to lead the Badgers. Ethan Happ added 14 points, Aleem Ford had 12 and freshman guard Brad Davison finished with 10 points.

The Badgers shot a season low 32.8% from the field in Big Ten play. They hit just 29.4% in the second half.

Sophomore guard Brevin Pritzl’s shooting slump continued. He finished 0 for 11 and 0 for 9 from three-point range. The Badgers as a team were 7 of 26 (26.9%) from distance for the game.

The Badgers crawled back to within six at 52-46 with 1:19 left to play, but having to foul late, they watched the Wildcats go 8 for 8 at the free throw line in that final stretch.